Monday, March 31, 2008

Goya's Ghosts (Drama 2006)

I never even heard of this movie before I stumbled upon it a few days ago. Portman is in it, so I thought I would check it out.

This was a period piece surrounding the Spanish monarchy and the Inquisition. I guess Goya was a famous painter during this time. The story followed around this artist as he witnessed many horrors that people inflicted on one another, may that be the Catholic Church or Napoleon's conquering army. Portman's character was an unfortunate person who caught the attention of the Inquisition and suffered dearly for it. Javier Bardem's character was a sleazy man of the cloth, turned criminal, turned judge, and then turned back into a criminal. It pretty much showed the rise and fall of this guy two times over.

Artistically, the movie felt a lot like Girl with a Pearl Earring, even though the stories weren't similar at all. It was fair, but mainly if you're interested in the artist or history during this period of time.Rating - C